Maisy battery

Maisy Battery is a German coastal fortification in Grandcamp-Maisy, France, comprising several concrete bunkers and artillery positions. The complex covers a wide area with branching underground passages connecting command posts and ammunition stores.

German forces built this defensive position from 1942 as part of the Atlantic Wall, using workers from occupied territories of Russia, Czechoslovakia and Poland. The site remained hidden under vegetation for over sixty years after the war until a British researcher rediscovered it using historical military maps.

The battery name comes from the nearby village of Maisy, linking the military installation to the rural Norman landscape. Visitors today see educational panels and original equipment showing how soldiers lived and worked inside these fortifications.

Guided tours run through restored trenches and gun emplacements, with sturdy footwear recommended due to uneven paths. A parking area sits at the entrance, and most sections are accessible in dry weather.

Gary Sterne found the site through a military map attached to a purchased uniform and began clearing the overgrown structures. The battery had been incorrectly marked on Allied maps as Pointe du Hoc, contributing to its decades of obscurity.